7-24-14

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Flagstaff Almanac: Day: 205 / Week: 30 
July Averages: 81° \ 51°
Today: Average Sky Cover: 70%
    H 84° L 61° Ave. humidity: 35%
    Wind: ave:   3mph; Gusts:  15mph 
    Average High: 82° Record High:  91° (1937)
    Average Low: 51° Record Low:  39° (1995)
         
Quote of the Day
Historical Highlights for Today
1411 - Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, takes place.
1534 - Jacques Cartier, lands in Canada, claims it for France, erects a 33 foot high cross on a small island
1683 - 1st settlers from Germany to US, leave aboard Concord
1704 - English & Dutch troops occupy Gibraltar
1793 - France passes 1st copyright law
1823 - Slavery is abolished in Chile.
1847 - Brigham Young & his Mormon followers arrive at Salt Lake City, UT
1866 - Tennessee becomes 1st Confederate state readmitted to Union
1901 - O. Henry is released from prison after 3 years for embezzlement from a bank.
1911 - Hiram Bingham discovers Lost City of the Incas
1948 - Soviets blockades Berlin from west
1967 - Charles de Gaulle says 'Vive le Quebec libre! Long live free Quebec!' 1990 - Ms. Magazine hits newstands again after an 8 month hiatus
2005 - Lance Armstrong retires after winning a record seventh consecutive Tour de France victory (stripped for doping in 2012)
  Birthdays Today:   
How many can you identify? Answers in Birthday’s Today below
My Rambling Thoughts   
This Saturday evening, two of us are doing a presentation on Israel at our group discussion. With all that is in the news the last couple of weeks, this has become a real challenge. Karen and I met for lunch to figure out how to make the presentation exciting. We usually have a presentation with some background, highlights of the articles we have read, and then have a discussion about the questions posed at the end of the articles. We are going to do a little ‘argument’ to start things off. I am going to be an Israeli Jew, she will be a Palestinian. We will ‘bicker’ about why our side should have the land. Then we will discuss a recent editorial in the local paper that talks about how both sides have to listen to the other side and how foolish one looks when they refuse to listen to the other side. Then it will be on to the questions. We are also searching YouTube for some short videos showing each side living in the current situation. Should be an interesting night.
Game  Center (answers at the end of post)
Brain Teasers
I, Professor Picanumba, will amaze and astound you. Take a piece of paper and write any word on it. Fold the paper in half twice, and put it on the floor. Now stand on it. Believe it or not, I will now tell you what is on the paper.
Lifestyle  Substance:     
Found on You Tube with some relevance to today
OK Then…
Harper’s Index 
Minimum percentage of ATMs worldwide that operate on Windows XP: 95
Date on which Microsoft stopped providing tech support for that operation system: 4/8/2012
Unusual Fact of the Day
The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island. What was the island called before the statue arrived? Bedloe's Island.
Popular Native Languages…
Rio Grand Keresan
This is the language of seven of the New Mexico Rio Grande pueblos: Acoma, Laguna, Santa Ana, Zia, Kewa, Cochiti and San Felipe. The pueblo peoples of the Southwest have rich language diversity. The Hopi language is Uto-Aztecan, Zuni is a language isolate related to the Penutian languages, the Tanoan languages include Towa (spoken at Jemez), Tewa (spoken at Ohkay Owingeh, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Tesuque, Nambe, Pojoaque, and Hano [a Hopi village]), and there are three Tiwa languages, Taos, Picuris, and Southern Tiwa (spoken at Sandia and Isleta).
Common Sayings from the Bible…
There's a time and a place for everything
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
Eccl 3:1
Big Lies…
Lincoln Ordered a Mass Execution
In the fall of 1862, Native tribes in Minnesota waged war on white settlers out of frustration from starvation, mistreatment and harsh conditions. After soldiers captured over 300 Indians, President Abraham Lincoln approved the largest mass execution in U.S. history on 38 Dakota men. On the day of their hanging, an estimated 4,000 spectators watched them hung. Their bodies were later taken and used as medical cadavers.
People Facts…
In Korea, a child’s first birthday is the most important. In one part of the celebration, several items are placed on a table. The one that the baby picks up first is said to predict their future.
Historical Facts…
A monk had once written over a book that contained information about calculus that was written by Archimedes in ancient Greece that could have made us 100 or even 1000 years more mathematically and technologically advanced.
Retro Native Humor…
An Apache guy, who had spent his whole life in the desert, goes to visit a friend who had moved to town. He'd never seen a train or the tracks they run on.
While standing in the middle of the railroad tracks one day, he hears this whistle -- Whooee da Whoee! -- but doesn't know what it is.
BAM!!, he's hit by the train and tossed to the side of the tracks. It was only a glancing blow, so he was lucky enough to live through it with a few broken bones and some bruises.
After weeks in the hospital recovering, he's at his friend's house attending a party one evening. While in the kitchen, he suddenly hears the teapot whistling. He grabs a baseball bat from the nearby closet and proceeds to batter and bash the teapot into an unrecognizable lump of metal. His friend, hearing the noise, rushes into the kitchen, sees what's happened and asks the Apache guy, "Why'd you bust up my teapot?" The desert man replies, "Shii' kiis', you gotta kill these things when they're small."
Common Phrase Origins…
Kick the Bucket
Meaning: To die
History: When a cow was killed at a slaughterhouse, a bucket was placed under it while it was positioned on a pulley. Sometimes the animal’s legs would kick during the adjustment of the rope and it would literally kick the bucket before being killed.
Flagstaff, AZ History…
From 1889: The dance at Old Town last Friday night was attended by all the young folks of our town and all expressed themselves as having had a great time.
Work has commenced on the new A&P Railroad depot that was totally destroyed by fire last week. The new depot will be a one-story stone structure and when finished will be an attractive feature of our town.
Joke-of-the-day
An old man was tired from riding his bike, and decided to hitch hike. A guy in his red Corvette pulled up to give him a lift. When the old man brought out his bike that he had leaned up against a tree, the driver said, "I have no room for your bike in my car, but I'd like to help you in some way seeing you standing here in the hot sun." After a few seconds of thought, the driver said, "I know what we can do. I have a rope behind my seat. I'll tie one end of it to the rear end of my car and the other end to the front your bike. You ride your bike, and I'll give you this whistle. If I go too fast for you, just blow your whistle and I'll slow down." The old guy agreed to it. So off he went down the highway with the old man and his bike in tow. A little ways down the road, a young lady in a bright yellow corvette pulls up next to them. She gives the guy in the red Vette the High Sign, meaning "you want a drag?" Off they go down the highway, 100 plus MPH, the old man blowing his whistle like crazy. They zipped by a Highway Patrol cop sitting under a tree. The cop knew he couldn't catch them, so he called ahead to his fellow cop down the road to intercept. "Car number 2, this is car number 1." "Go head number 1, what'cha got for me?" I got a red and yellow Vettes come down your way doing hundred plus, can you intercept?" "Ten-four, Is there anything else?" "Yeah, you wouldn't believe this, but there is an old guy riding a bicycle blowing his whistle trying to pass."
Rules of Thumb:   
MOWING A WET LAWN
The lawn is too wet to mow until all the puddles evaporate from the asphalt driveway.
Yeah, It Really Happened
MONTREAL (UPI) - An elementary school in Montreal was apparently so concerned about the fallout from a student wearing a Boson Bruins hockey sweater that it opted to cancel Canadiens jersey day. The event was supposed to happen on Thursday prior to the game between the two teams that night. Officials at Honoré-Mercier Elementary School canceled the event after a parent complained that an 11-year-old girl was asked to remove her Bobby Orr Bruins jersey on a prior Canadiens jersey day. "She's been a Boston Bruins fan all her life, so she kinda felt really bad. She felt kind of excluded from the school," her father, Tony Pasquale, told CBC News. Pasquale did not make the complaint himself and he was critical of the decision to cancel. "It teaches respect, sportsmanship. We can't all be from the same thread," he said. English Montreal School Board spokesman Mike Cohen defended the school's decision. "We don't think it's prudent for a student to wear a Boston Bruins jersey in a school during this very intensive playoff play," Cohen said. "At this stage in the game, with the Canadiens leading the series 2-1, why ignite things, why create a controversy?" Unfortunately for the administrators at Honoré-Mercier Elementary School, the Bruins won Thursday night's game 1-0 in overtime and the series is now tied up at two games apiece. Game 5 will be on Saturday night in Boston. 
Somewhat Useless Information   
Did you know that “esposas” is a Spanish feminine plural noun which has two meanings?
It means both “wives” and “handcuffs” and its synonym is “manilla”!
**
Did you know that before the first commercial toilet paper people used to find several ways to clean up after the bathroom act, such as coconuts, shells, snow, moss, hay, leaves, grass, corncobs, sheep’s wool and, later newspapers, magazines, and pages of books?
Although people preferred to wipe with pages from the Sears catalogue, the first commercial toilet paper was made from manila-infused hemp sheets!
**
Inuvik in the Arctic Circle, known as the Land of the Midnight Sun, is located approximately 100 km (62 mi) from the Arctic Ocean and approximately 200 km (120 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.
Inuvik , has 56 days of 24-hour daylight (from June to August) and 30 days of darkness, mostly in December.
Check Your Calendar
Observances This Week:
18-25
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week
20-26
Everybody Deserves A Massage Week; National Parenting Gifted Children Week; Captive Nations Week; National Independent Retailers Week; National Zoo Keeper Week
24-27
Comic Con International
24-26
World Lumberjack Championships
Today Is  
Anne Hutchinson Memorial Day
Instant Coffee Day
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Pioneer Day
Cousins Day
National Drive-Thru Day
National Tell an Old Joke Day
National Tequila Day
Tell An Old Joke Day
Today’s Events through History  
1567 - Mary Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate; her 1-year-old son becomes King James VI of Scots
1959 - US VP Nixon argues with Khrushchev, known as "Kitchen Debate"
Birthday’s Today                                                        
Pat Oliphant, Australia, cartoonist (7 Pres: The Art of Oliphant) is 79
Ruth Buzzi, comedienne (Laugh-In, Margie-That Girl) is 78
Robert Hays, actor (Airplane!, Starman, Scandalous) is 67
Michael Richards, comedian (Kramer-Seinfeld) is 65
Lynda Carter, Phoenix, Miss USA (1973)/actress (Wonder Woman) is 63
Pam Tillis, country singer (Melancholy Child) is 57
Barry Bonds, left fielder (Pirates, SF Giants, 3X MVP) is 50
Jennifer Lopez, Bronx, actress and pop singer (Selena) is 45
Anna Paquin, oscar winning actress (Piano) is 32
Bindi Irwin, Australian entertainer; daughter of Steve Irwin is 16
Remembered for being born today
Simón Bolívar, Caracas, political and military leader (1783-1840)
Alexandre Dumas, author (3 Musketeers, Count of Monte Cristo) (1802-1870)
Amelia Earhart, Atchison Kansas, aviator (1st woman to solo Atlantic) (1897-1937)
Zelda Fitzgerald, 1st wife of F Scott (1900-1948)
Historical Obits Today                                                           
Isaac B Singer, Polish/US writer (Yentl, Nobel 1978), 1991, @88
James Chadwick, English physicist (Nobel 1935), 1974, @82
Chad Everett, actor (Medical Center), lung cancer, 2012, @75
Sherman Hemsley, Actor (George Jefferson), natural causes , 20102, @74
Peter Sellers, actor (Pink Panther, Mouse that Roared), heart attack, 1980, @54
Brain Teasers                                         
Your foot is on the paper.
(Look down if you don't believe me.)
Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.
§    And That Is All for Now  §
 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.